Connector assembly



United States Patent 3,178,671 CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Victor Mastis, Cicero,Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Berg Mfg. 8: Sales Co., DesPlaines, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 9, 1963, Ser. No.293,791 2 Claims. (Cl. 339192) This invention relates to connectors andhas particular relation to a multiple-contact connector assembly.

One purpose of the invention is to provide a connector assembly havingcontacts formed by a stamping operation.

Another purpose is to provide a connector assembly of minimum cost inmanufacture.

Another :purpose is to provide a connector assembly which may beassembled with maximum simplicity of operation and minimum cost.

Another purpose is to provide a connector assembly including contactshaving a satisfactory degree of float.

Another purpose is to provide a connector assembly with contact elementswhich may be indexed as desired. Another purpose is to provide aconnector assembly which can be disassembled for repair and replacementof parts with maximum ease.

Another purpose is to provide a connector assembly having contactsprotected against dislocation in the mating operation.

Other purposes will appear from time to time during the course of thespecification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation in partial cross section;

FIGURE 2 is an end view; and

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3.of FIG- URE 1.

Like parts are indicated by like numerals throughout the specificationand drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG- URE l, thenumeral 1 designates generally a cylindrical housing. The housing has acylindrical wall 2 and a rear wall 3. An attaching bracket 4 ispositioned adjacent the rear wall 3 and in axial alignment with anaperture 3a formed in wall 3. A cable guard 5 is formed of a coiled wirehaving a series of coils at one end securedwithin the clamp member 4 anda'number of coils at its opposite end disposed in angular relationshipwith the majority of the coils as indicated at 6. A mounting bracket andhandle element 7 is secured as at 8 to the outer surface of the housing1.

Within the housing 1a well or chamber 10 communicates with the aperture3a. From the well or chamber 10 the housing 1 is outwardly open. Theinner cylindrical wall surface of the wall 2 is slotted or grooved toform a keyway 1,1, as best seen in FIGURE 2.

Seated in the outer open end of housing 1 is a contact-supporting member12 having a generally cylindrical outer wall surface 13 slidablyengaging the inner wall surface of the wall 2. The member 12 has a keyportion 12a fitting within the keyway 11 and having its inner endsurface abutting the shoulder 11a. A fastener element, shown in dottedlines in FIGURE 1 and indicated best in FIGURE 2 at 14, penetrates thewall 2 of housing 1 and threadedly engages the member 12 to lock thesame against movement within the housing 1. The member 12 has anoutwardly extending annular flange 15 at its outer end surface, theflange 15 seating against the outer end surface of the Wall 2 of housing1.

A plurality of substantially circular passages 16 are formed in themember 12 and extend therethrough in parallel relationship with the axisof member 12. As may be best seen in FIGURE 2, the passages 16 include anumber of circumferentially spaced passages and an axial ice passage. Itwill be noted also that one of the passages, for example the uppermostpassage, may be of larger diameter than the remaining passages formed inthe member 12. Since the passage-s 16 and elements associated therewithare, except for size variances, substantially identical, it willsuflice, for convenience, to enumerate and describe one such passage andthe elements therewith associated and to apply such description andnumeration to all. Each of the passages 16 has partial counterboreportions 16:: at its outer end. Positioned within each of the passages16 is a contact member 17.

Each of the members 17 is formed of a relatively flat, thin strip ofmetal folded upon itself to produce a major cylindrical central segment18 having slots 19 diametrical- 1y opposed therein and extending from apoint intermediate the ends of the members 17 to and through the outeropen edge of the member 17. Offset at degrees from the slots 19 themember 17 has a pair of diametrically opposed, outwardly extending,semicircular flange portions 2%) formed and adapted for seating upon andin the counterbore portions previously described.

At a :point inwardly spaced from the inner end of member 17 the materialthereof is folded upon itself and curved to form a partially conicalportion 21 and a hollow neck portion 22 having a substantiallytriangular crosssectional configuration. The portion 22 is formed bybending the material of the member 17 upon itself to produce anoverlapping of substantial longitudinal edge portions as may be bestseen, for example, in FIGURE 3. The overlapping portions 23, 24 areapertured in alignment, one with the other, and threads are formed inone or both said apertures for reception and threaded engagement of alock bolt member 25.

Indicated at 9 is an abutment formed or positioned on the outer surfaceof housing 1 between the wall 3 and the inner end portions 22 of member17, the member 9 being positioned for locking engagement with acooperating element on a mating connector assembly which may from timeto time be used with the assembly of the invention.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

The contact members 17 are formed by a simple stamping operation uponthe thin, flat strip of metal of which the same are constructed. Suchstrip is curled and folded upon itself to form the major cylindricalelongated central section 18, the outwardly flared diametrically opposedflanges 2t) and the cable-receiving inner end portion 22, the slots 19being stamped out as an early part of the total forming operation, theapertures in portions 23, 24 being formed either prior to or after themember 17 has been constructed. The housing 1 is a simple hollowcylinder and member 12 is also a cylinder with a number of axiallyaligned passages, the latter being moldable, for example, out of asuitable insulating material such as Bakelite. Thus the elements arecapable of rapid, economic production as Well as rapid, economicassembly as set forth below.

Assembly of the entire structure of the invention is simple, rapid andassured of correctness, eliminating the effect of human error eventhough assembly has been speeded. The members 17 are squeezed orcompressed manually, the slots 19 permitting a reduction in the outerdiameter of semicircular flanges 20. This reduction ren-, ders theflanges 20 insertable in passages 16 in slidable engagement with theWalls thereof. Members 17 are then moved, from the rear forward, orright to left as shown, in the passages 16 until the flanges 20 snapinto and seat in the counterbore portions Ida.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, the overlapped portions 23, 24 lie outside thediameter of passage 16 and serve as stop means preventing insertion ofcontacts 17 beyond the desired point and, in cooperation with flanges2t), serving to lock contacts 17 against unintended longitudinaldislocation in use.

With the members 17 thus positioned in the passages 16 and lock members25 threaded into the apertures 23a, 24a formed in overlapped portions23, 24, a cable (not shown), having a number of individual strandscorresponding to the number of contacts 17, is inserted through theflexible cable guard 5, through aperture 3a and through chamber toexpose the strands outwardly through the opposite open end of housing 1.In the drawings herein seven contacts 17 are shown. The cable employedwith the structure shown in the drawings, therefore, would normallycontain seven strands, one for connection to each of the terminals orcontacts 17. Each strand is inserted in the portion 22 of the connector17 a distance sufiicient to insure adequate locking contact by themember 25. The member 25 is thereupon turned further into and throughthe aperture 23a, 24a to compress and lockingly engage the strand toprovide solid electrical contact with the contact 17. The assembler theninesrts the member 12 into the outer open end of housing 1, aligning thekey portion 13 of the member 12 with the keyway 11 formed in thehousing 1. Insertion of the member 12 will cause or be accompanied by aretrograde movement of the cable in chamber 10 and cable guard 5 untilthe member 12 is fully positioned in the housing 1, the flange 15seating upon the outer end surface of the housing 1, the inner edge ofthe key portion 12a seating upon the shoulder 11a of the keyway 11, asmay be best seen in FIGURE 1. The member 14 is then inserted in thecountersunk aperture illustrated, for example, in FIGURE 2 and isrotated to threadably engage the member 12 and to lock the same inposition. The connector of the invention is then ready for use. It willbe seen that the entire assembly of the connector of the invention maybe rapidly accomplished with a minimum amount of tools and effort.

In use the handle member 7 may be held by the user in one hand while themating connector member, having an equal number of contact elements, isinserted into mating relationship with the structure of the invention.Similarly, the handle 7 may be employed as a mounting bracket, anaperture 7a being formed in the member 7 to provide for passagetherethrough of a suitable fastener element.

When the mating contact elements are inserted in interpenetrating,electrical energy-transmitting relationship with the contacts 17 thetendency of such insertion action to force the members 17 further towardthe chamber 10 is precluded by the engagement of flanges 20 with thecounterbore portion 16a. Separation of mating contacts from contacts 17,with a tendency to force contacts 17 in the opposite direction, is metby contact of portions 23, 24 with a rear surface of member 12.

Should it become necessary to dismantle or disassemble the structure ofthe invention for repairs and replacement, the same is easilyaccomplished by merely removing lock screw 14, drawing member 12outwardly through the open end of housing 1, or to the left as the partsare shown in the drawings, and withdrawing the lock member 25 from theoffending contact or cable strand. Thereafter, if a contact member 17 isto be replaced, the flanges 20 of the offending contact are pressedtogether through the mediacy of slots 19 and the contact is pressedoutwardly from the rear of member 12, or to the right as the partsappear in the drawings.

Whereas there has been shown and described an operative form of theinvention, it should be understood that this showing and description areto be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There aremany modifications in and to the invention which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and which will fall within the scope and spiritof the invention.

There is claimed:

1. A connector assembly comprising a housing, a cablereceiving apertureat one end of said housing, a contactsupport member seated in theopposite open end of said housing, said support member having aplurality of spaced longitudinal passages therethrough, a contact memberpositioned in each of said passages, each of said passages havingcounterbore portions, each of said contact memers formed of a relativelyflat, thin strip of metal, said strip being folded upon itself to form amajor elongated, hollow cylindrical portion having a pair ofdiammetrically opposed slots, one of which extends the length of themajor portion and the other of which extends less than said length,flange portions bent outwardly from one end of said cylindrical portion,the opposite end of said cylindrical portion being folded upon itself inoverlapping relationship to create a substantially cross-sectionaltriangular end portion, one wall of said triangular end portionextending beyond the circumference of said major cylindrical portion,aligned and threaded apertures formed in said overlapping portion ofsaid triangular end portion, and a lock member threadably engaging saidapertures, said flange portions of said contact member formed andadapted for seating in said counterbore portions, and said outwardlyextending wall of said end portion of triangular cross section beingengageable with said support member.

2. A contact member formed of a relatively flat, thin strip of metal,said strip being folded upon itself to form a major, elongated, hollow,cylindrical portion having a pair of diammetrically opposed slots, oneof which extends the length of the major portion and the other of whichextends less than said length, flange portions bent outwardly from oneend of said cylindrical portion, the opposite end of said cylindricalportion being folded upon itself in overlapping relation to create asubstantially cross-sectional triangular end portion, one wall of saidtriangular end portion extending beyond the circumference of said majorcylindrical portion, aligned and threaded apertures formed in saidoverlapping portions of said triangular end portion and a lock memberthreadably engaging said apertures.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 848,941 4/07Vogel et al. Q. 339192 X 952,961 3/10 Thomas 339-191 2,089,844 8/ 37Anderson 339-484 X 2,124,182 7/38 Braun 339191 X 2,359,634 10/44Franklin 339-217 2,958,066 10/60 Humphrey 339--206 X FOREIGN PATENTS141,143 9/ 30 Switzerland.

944,494 11/48 France.

737,427 9/55 Great Britain.

M. HENSON WOOD, IR., Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH D. SEERS, Examiner,

2. A CONTACT MEMBER FORMED OF A RELATIVELY FLAT, THIN STRIP OF METAL,SAID STRIP BEING FOLDED UPON ITSELF TO FORM A MAYOR, ELONGATED, HOLLOW,CYLINDRICAL PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF DIAMMETRICALLY OPPOSED SLOTS, ONEOF WHICH EXTENDS THE LENGTH OF THE MAJOR PORTION AND THE OTHER OF WHICHEXTENDS LESS THAN SAID LENGTH, FLANGE PORTION BENT OUTWARDLY FROM ONEEND OF SAID CYLINDRICAL PORTION, THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID CYLINDRICALPORTION BEING FOLDED UPON ITSELF IN OVERLAPPING RELATION TO CREATE ASUBSTANTIALLY CROSS-SECTIONAL TRIANGULAR END PORTION, ONE WALL OF SAIDTRIANGULAR END PORTION EXTENDING BEYOND THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID MAJORCYLINDRICAL PORTION, ALIGNED AND THREADED APERTURES FORMED IN SAIDOVERLAPPING PORTIONS OF SAID TRIANGULAR END PORTION AND A LOCK MEMBERTHREADABLY ENGAGING SAID APERTURES.